SUPPLY CHAIN ARTICLES

• Beyond The Gold Standard(s): Modernizing Oligonucleotide Synthesis

  A few weeks ago, I had the chance to sit down with OPT Congress speaker Phil Baran, Richard Lerner Chair Professor, Department of Chemistry, Scripps Research. Baran was slated to (and did) present a keynote on the innovations shaping the next generation of oligo synthesis. Here, I share the biggest takeaways I had from our conversation, touching on how he sees the science of oligo chemistry and manufacturing advancing in the near and far future. 

• Therapeutic Oligonucleotides: Regulations & Quality Standards

  Oligonucleotides have surfaced in the past few years as promising therapeutic agents to treat diseases such as neurodegenerative disorders, respiratory disorders, cancer, and diabetic retinopathy. This article recaps a recent USP workshop where participants from regulatory agencies, industry, and academia gathered to discuss best practices and perspectives.

• Cultivating A Thriving mRNA Ecosystem: Key Initiatives & Future Directions

  Overall, I felt that the following initiatives/talking points were demonstrative of the types of creativity and symbiosis that we will need much more of in the near and long-term to foster a healthy and fruitful RNA ecosystem. 

• What Violin Making Can Teach Us About mRNA Therapeutic Quality

  Managing the mRNA supply chain and working in mRNA process development may not look anything like the work a luthier does to hew an instrument from an ancient spruce tree. But violin craftmanship actually serves as a fantastic metaphor for the challenging work the mRNA therapeutics space is tackling in sourcing and qualifying raw materials and optimizing the critical IVT reaction.

• 5 Critical Regulatory Topics To Watch In The Oligo Sector

  Though our guidances have helped us achieve upwards of 20 commercially approved oligo products, as I listened to GSK’s director of CMC policy and advocacy, Katie Duncan, present at TIDES, it struck me just how far we have yet to come. Here, I single out a few of the biggest topics of regulatory discussion shaping the oligo therapeutics market.

• Moderna & The Global mRNA Supply Chain: Regulatory Lessons Learned

  One of the most important reminders I took away from Moderna’s experiences ushering its mRNA vaccine onto the global market is that a commercial manufacturing process must also be accompanied by a commercially ready supply chain. Though sufficient physical volumes of each raw material and a redundant supplier network are necessities, physical scale is not the only “CQA” for which we must account when commercializing our supply chain.